TECHNIQUES FOR DETECTING GRAVITATIONAL-WAVES WITH A SPHERICAL ANTENNA

We report the results of a theoretical and experimental study of a sph erical gravitational wave antenna. We develop a number of techniques t o deconvolve the data from a set of resonant transducers attached to t he surface of a sphere to monitor the sphere's five quadrupole modes. We show that by observing these modes, one can measure the five tensor ial components of a gravitational wave. The inverse problem can then b e solved and the direction of a gravitational wave can be determined. Asymmetries such as the nondegeneracy of the quadrupole modes and mist uning of the transducers are included in the model and their effects o n the data analysis is studied. We develop a technique to compensate f or these imperfections by measuring the response of the resonant trans ducers to the normal modes. These techniques were demonstrated on a ro om-temperature prototype antenna with which we verified that it is pos sible to determine the location of an impulse excitation applied to th e prototype's surface from the transducer outputs. [S0556-2821(97)0622 4-3].